Olympic 100m champion, Ferrari lover Lamont Marcell Jacobs a special guest at ‘Temple of Speed’

Lamont Marcell Jacobs was invited to the F1 Italian Grand Prix at the high-speed Monza circuit. The Italian sprinter also waved the chequered flag.

2 minBy Rahul Venkat
Lamont Marcell Jacobs at Monza.
(2021 Getty Images)

Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs, the reigning men’s 100m Olympic champion, was a special guest at the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza racetrack over the weekend.

It was an apt appearance for the sprint sensation at the historic Autodromo Nazionale di Monza circuit, also known as the ‘Temple of Speed’ for being the fastest track on the Formula 1 calendar. It is also the home of the Ferrari F1 team.

On Saturday, Marcell Jacobs was at the track before the start of the F1 sprint qualifying race - the results of which determined the grid for Sunday’s F1 race.

Lamont Marcell Jacobs also handed out symbolic medals to the top three - Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen of the Red Bull team and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo - after sprint qualifying.

On Sunday, he waved the chequered flag, to mark the end of the 53-lap race. Daniel Ricciardo of Australia won the Grand Prix from team-mate Lando Norris.

The 26-year-old Italian sprinter is a Formula 1 fan and has stated that he admires legendary seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton. Marcell Jacobs, however, has stated that he supports the Ferrari team.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Lamont Marcell Jacobs became the first Italian to qualify and win the men’s 100m Olympic final in a European record 9.80 seconds.

Lamont Marcell Jacobs also won the men’s 4x100m relay gold at Tokyo, along with team-mates Lorenzo Patta, Fausto Desalu and Filippo Tortu.

They ran the race in an Italian record 37.50 seconds to win their country’s first-ever 4x100m relay medal at the Olympics.

Lamont Marcell Jacobs was also the flag-bearer for Italy during the closing ceremony at Tokyo 2020.